This tour is offered in partnership with Ventures Birding Tours.
Available spaces may be different to those advertised on our website.
The Southern Appalachians of Western North Carolina are home to 25 species of breeding wood warblers.
During our two full day warbler weekend we will explore a multitude of habitats including marshes, hardwood forest, and the high elevation spruce fir forest. The lower elevations on the edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpment are excellent for Swainson’s, Kentucky, and Prothonotary Warblers. Moving up the escarpment into the hard wood forest we will search for numerous more species including Black-throated Green, American Redstart, and Hooded Warblers. Ascending into the highest elevations in the East we will search out Canada, Black-throated Blue, and Chestnut-sided Warblers.
Western North Carolina is also extremely fortunate to have a small population of Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers in the area. These two species will be main targets for the weekend. We will encounter more than just warblers on our weekend. It is prime time for shorebird migration, and we will check out the local sod fields to see if anything has turned up. The high elevations are home to several species of flycatchers such as Alder and Least.
We will likely see and hear over 120 species for the weekend. This is a great way to study this beautiful family of birds in a gorgeous mountain setting. We hope to see you here in the mountains for an awesome warbler packed weekend.
What Warblers can we Hope to See? Yellow-throated, Prothonotary, Kentucky, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Canada, Blackburnian, Cerulean, Golden-winged, Northern Parula, Pine, Prairie, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Black-and-white Warblers, and more, plus many more spring birds of the North Carolina Mountains.
marshes, hardwood forest, and the high elevation spruce fir forest
typically mild year-round, expect temperatures between 59°F (15°C) and 71°F (22C°)
10 with 1 Ventures Leader
relaxed
comfortable
mostly easy
120
Blue Ridge Mountains
good
This was my first birding tour, not only with Rockjumper, but any tour company. Being a first for me, I was a bit anxious, but am happy to say the tour met and exceeded my expectations. The lodging, meals and other tour participants were all great. Best of all was our tour guide, Stephan Lorenz. His knowledge, kindness and willingness to accommodate each member of the tour were phenomenal. I am also happy to say I picked up 94 life birds!
Stephan & Claudia were so hardworking, friendly & fun! And I feel their personal efforts made a huge impact for our first ever RJ birding tour, a success.
Overall it was a great trip. Stephan made sure everyone got good looks at all the found birds. Highly recommend it.
It is great to be traveling again, even if it is a short domestic trip. But I don’t want to sell the tour short. It really was an excellent short tour. We saw a great number of migrating warblers and shorebirds. Stephan Lorenz has an uncanny ability to find the one special shorebird or a rare migrating warbler buried in the bushes. He is also kind, informative and always helpful. And a special thanks to Claudia for her help with the driving and coordination.
Stephan was an excellent guide and made sure everyone was able to see the birds and many times obtain photos. He was patient with the requests of the group members and facilitated an enjoyable experience for all. Claudia was a great addition to the team and we really appreciated her help finding birds in the scopes, identifying birds in the van, and working with Stephan to make sure our trip was as seamless as possible.
25 Apr 2024 - 28 Apr 2024 (4 days)
USD1,395 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Aaron Steed
Tour price (Per person): USD1,395 * GBP1,149 * EUR1,321 * AUD2,187
Single Supplement: USD300 * GBP247 * EUR284 * AUD470
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